Princeton University Athletics
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Rutgers
Rutgers Ruins Wrestling Senior Night, Tops Tigers 30-9
February 11, 2005 | Wrestling
Feb. 11, 2005
PRINCETON - The Rutgers wrestling team grabbed immediate control of Friday's match against Princeton and never let go. The Scarlet Raiders ruined Princeton's Senior Night with a 30-9 victory over the Tigers.
Rutgers opened the match with a pair of pins, beginning with Ricky Ringel's fall over senior tri-captain Audrey Pang in eight seconds. Dan Hilt followed that by controlling Greg Redman throughout their match before turning him for the pin late in the second period. Hilt turned Redman twice during the match to get back points, and despite fighting out of two near pins, Redman was unable to avoid the final turn.
Princeton's Eric Marcotulli started his 141-pound match against Steve Adamscik with some early success by recording the first takedown of the night for the Tigers. Adamscik would escape and end the period with a takedown of his own to hold a 3-2 lead after one period. Marcotulli was able to ride for much of the second period, but Adamscik caught a reversal to take full control of the match. He gave up a pair of stalling points but would hold on for the 6-3 victory. The most exciting period of the night came in the opener of the 149-pound contest between Princeton's Andrew Ianuzzi and Rutgers' Michael Ferrara. The Rutgers sophomore opened with the first two takedowns to open a 4-1 lead, but Ianuzzi quickly battled back with an escape and a takedown of his own. The Tiger junior, who is quietly having a solid season for Princeton, would allow two optional escapes before recording two takedowns of his own and ending the excitement with an 8-6 lead. The offense would continue throughout the second period, although Iannuzzi would not allow any of his lead to disappear. Another late takedown opened a 13-11 lead entering the third period. One final takedown in the third would be enough for Iannuzzi, who cut the team deficit to 15-3 with an 18-14 win.
The momentum would be short-lived, as Gene Zannetti ruined the Dillon Gym debut of freshman Alex Enriquez with an array of takedowns that resulted in a 10-4 victory.
The excitement picked up again at 165 pounds, as Princeton senior Charlie Wiggins and Rutgers freshman Joe Sacco battled a tense three periods. Though both wrestlers nearly hit takedowns in the first period, the opening three minutes ended scoreless. Sacco earned a quick takedown to open the second period, and Wiggins would follow with a similar quick escape in the third period. As each second passed in the third period, it became clear that one takedown would be the margin of victory. Wiggins came in with a shot late in the period, but Sacco outmuscled him and ended up on top of the Tiger senior. It resulted in the critical takedown, and despite a late escape and attempt for a winning takedown, it was Sacco's arm raised at the end.
Andy Roy used three takedowns and a reversal to defeat Matthew DeNichilo 9-3 at 174 pounds. The win gave Rutgers an insurmountable 24-3 lead with only three matches remaining. Junior Chris Ressa built the lead to 27-3 with a 9-5 victory over senior Jack Fleming at 184 pounds.
Junior Jake Butler gave the Princeton faithful reason to celebrate with a first-period pin of Ken Stiles. Butler recorded three takedowns and a three-point near fall before catching Stiles late in the period and putting him on his back for the victory. The win keeps Butler perfect at Dillon Gym this season; he swept his Brown and Harvard opponents last weekend.
The evening concluded with a victory for Rutgers heavyweight John Foscolo, who topped Kris Berr 5-0.
Princeton will wrestle Franklin & Marshall in its home finale Saturday afternoon. The match, originally scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., will now start at 1:30 p.m. It will be part of a day-long celebration of the first 100 years of Princeton athletics.
Princeton 30, Rutgers 9
125 - Ricky Ringel (R) p. Audrey Pang, 0:08 (6-0)
133 - Dan Hilt (R) d. Greg Redman, 4:28 (12-0)
141 - Steve Adamscik (R) d. Eric Marcotulli, 6-3 (15-0)
149 - Andrew Iannuzzi (P) d. Michael Ferrara, 18-14 (15-3)
157 - Gene Zannetti (R) d. Alex Enriquez, 10-4 (18-3)
165 - Joe Sacco (R) d. Charlie Wiggins, 3-2 (21-3)
174 - Andy Roy (R) d. Matthew DeNichilo, 9-3 (24-3)
184 - Chris Ressa (R) d. Jack Fleming, 9-5 (27-3)
197 - Jake Butler (P) p. Ken Stiles, 2:50 (27-9)
HWT - John Foscolo (R) d. Kris Berr 5-0